Been asked to look after a 10 year old after school

Oldernotwiser

I really don't think that it's fair to expect a 10 year old to do school work throughout the school holidays, even if she goes on some trips as well!

achtunglady

Prudent wrote: »

I think the rate is far too cheap. If you want to have a day out with your daughter in the holidays you will be taking this child too. £12 will barely cover costs of entry etc. Even if you just go swimming and get a snack at least half the money will be used in costs. My local out of school club charges £20 and extra for outings and £7.50 from school until 6pm.

If she turns up at 6pm then she is charged £7

achtunglady

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I really don't think that it's fair to expect a 10 year old to do school work throughout the school holidays, even if she goes on some trips as well!

I'm sure her parents will take her on outings when they have leave, i'm not saying I wont take her out, but it will be dependant on weather etc

Oldernotwiser

achtunglady wrote: »

I'm sure her parents will take her on outings when they have leave, i'm not saying I wont take her out, but it will be dependant on weather etc

But what about playing with her in the house? You should no more be sitting her in front of schoolwork all day than you should be sitting her in front of daytime TV!

achtunglady

I am not saying i won't play with her, in fact i have some games that will benefit her in all areas of development, memory games, physical games etc and when the weather is good we can play outside to develop her gross motor skills and when its not so good then we can do drawing, painting, crafting, beadwork, sewing, knitting etc for fine motor skills but her schoolwork must come first, don't you agree?

Savvy_Sue

The mother wants to pay in cash so no need to register with OFSTED

You will need to register with HMRC as self-employed. And you need to do this as soon as you start, as the 3 month grace period no longer exists. You will have to set aside money for tax after taking off your expenses. You may have to pay NI, although if you expect your earnings to be low enough you can get an exemption for this.

However, here's some more questions:

how well does your daughter get on with this child, and is it a long term friendship? I wouldn't even contemplate it unless the minded child was best buddies with one of mine, and had been for a long time. Otherwise it's not fair on YOUR child.

does it matter how much the woman sees of her salary after paying your fees? And remember, she's working all day and NOT paying for childcare in term time, it's the overall cost of childcare she needs to consider, NOT just your hourly rate compared with hers. (I remember some of my friends complaining at the hourly rates of their childminders - funnily enough, none of them wanted to BE a childminder!)

you're not charging nearly enough, especially if you're providing a meal. Remember, you're giving up the right to whisk your DD off for some special time after school, it's going to be surprisingly restrictive.

do you WANT to do this? Don't even think about it if you don't.

does the child WANT to come to your house? Again, don't even think about it if she's a sulky madam - I'm not saying you or her parents should consult her, but if she's not someone you want around your home, it's going to be miserable.

I suspect you'd find more useful information on the NCMA website.

Fire_Fox

achtunglady wrote: »

I have been thinking of prices and this is what i have come up:

(basic)3.15pm-5pm = £6 which includes a meal
(overtime 1)5pm-6.30pm= an additional £1 on top of basic
6.30pm-7pm = an additional £1.50 on top of basic plus overtime 1

She has asked me to look after the girl during school holidays and i am thinking of charging £12 per day until 5pm including evening meal (mum to provide her lunch) and then the above rates will apply.

Why are you making your charging system so complex? I've never been paid an overtime rate unless I was working more than full time or a bank holiday. I've certainly never worked where there are four different rates of pay for a single day! Most people who work evening shifts don't get anti-social hours payments.

Just charge per hour, including dinner and lunches in the summer if it makes you feel better. Bear in mind you may have to pay tax on the income, if you claim any means tested benefits such as tax credits you will have to declare the income to them too.

achtunglady wrote: »

I am not saying i won't play with her, in fact i have some games that will benefit her in all areas of development, memory games, physical games etc and when the weather is good we can play outside to develop her gross motor skills and when its not so good then we can do drawing, painting, crafting, beadwork, sewing, knitting etc for fine motor skills but her schoolwork must come first, don't you agree?

Do all activities really have to be about motor skills and development? She is a child not a mini professor. When she has been at school all day she will need a break to play just for fun! Sorry but you sound so cold, I wouldn't want my child getting their emotional cues from you.

Oldernotwiser

achtunglady wrote: »

I am not saying i won't play with her, in fact i have some games that will benefit her in all areas of development, memory games, physical games etc and when the weather is good we can play outside to develop her gross motor skills and when its not so good then we can do drawing, painting, crafting, beadwork, sewing, knitting etc for fine motor skills but her schoolwork must come first, don't you agree?

Not in the holidays, no - children need to play and relax.

paulwf

Some very good points raised on this thread but don't let the technicalities of what you have to do as a business put you off...it might take a day or two of form filling to sort out but after that the day to day admin should be minimal.

To address the points that Savvy Sue raises about the how the two children get along could you do a no obligation trial for a couple of weeks?

Again to repeat what others have pointed out you will incur some business expenses and perhaps some impact on tax or benefits which is why you need to charge a sensible price not "mates rates". If you suggest a high price you can also drop it if the parent thinks it is too high, you can negotiate down but not up so start high. A sensible price will also stop the client taking the mickey, at your suggested overtime rate of around £1 an hour she'll never be in a rush to pick up her DD!

If you are looking after your DD anyway the chance to earn £50 a week in term time and £100 a week in holidays sounds excellent. That extra income to a household budget can make the difference between scraping by and having a few luxuries, extra days out and nice birthdays and christmas. So my feeling is approach the idea with lots of caution but go for it.

Savvy_Sue

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Not in the holidays, no - children need to play and relax.

IMO the best childminders treat the child almost as 'one of their own'. If the OP spends a lot of time wondering how she can extend her DD's school work and how she can develop gross and fine motor skills during school holidays after more school work, then the other child's parent needs to know this.

Me, I thought my children needed to relax after school, and when I ran a couple of out of school clubs the last thing on our mind when planning the programme was whether we were developing gross and fine motor skills. The key thing was to offer FUN activities which children would WANT to take part in, while ensuring there was a quiet space for those who wanted to stick their noses in a book (not a school book!)

Maybe these days Ofsted would require us to 'label' these activities to show our 'development goals' or some such twaddle, but my goal would still be for children to have FUN so that they WANT to take part.

Sure, my older two don't have the greatest eye/hand coordination, but it didn't stop them learning to ride bikes and to drive, and DS3 isn't like them - he likes playing cricket so there's nowt wrong with him. And they can all wield a soldering iron, a pair of fine pliers and a watchmaker's screwdriver with the best of them when there's something small and fiddly to fix. I would have taught the older two to sew a button on before they went to Uni, but they never wear shirts except when with me, however I shall probably issue DS3 with a sewing kit and instructions if he loses a shirt button.

OP, you may well be a lovely lady behind that username, and I'm sorry if we're coming across a bit strong, but really, caring for other people's children at any age requires a lot of love rather than attention to detail - sure, there's some attention to detail, but I think you have to love it first, IYSWIM.

I know I couldn't do it - and before anyone asks what I was doing running out of school clubs in that case, I was doing the behind the scenes 'stuff': I knew after two weeks emergency cover in the club itself that I wasn't cut out to be a Playworker! :rotfl:

Actually, that's another good point: when working from home you're a Childminder. If you're in an afterschool setting you're normally a PLAYworker. In either case, it's the first part of the word which is the most important, IMO.